Few up to political fray

WITH less than three days to go until the close of nominations for candidates in the March 26 state election, sitting National Party MP for Tweed Geoff Provest has only two challengers.

They are Labor's 22-year-old student Reece Byrnes and Greens Party candidate Andrea Vickers.

Electoral rolls for all the NSW electorates closed at 6pm yesterday, meaning it is now too late for voters not on the roll to get their names down.

Nominations for candidates close at noon on Thursday.

Pre-polling for those who can't get to a polling station on March 26 begins next Monday at 39 Wharf St, Tweed Heads for Tweed electorate voters, and at the Canvas and Kettle conference room in the Murwillumbah Civic Centre for voters in the electorate of Lismore, which includes Murwil- lumbah.

Mr Provest, 52, holds the seat of Tweed by a 3% margin.

His Labor challenger Reece Byrnes is currently at Southern Cross Uni- versity studying Social Welfare and Government Policy. He lives with his parents at Banora Point.

According to ABC election commentator Antony Green, the seat is vastly different to many others because less than half – just 48% – of the voters are of working age. It has the lowest proportion of residents of working age (from 25-64) and the second-highest proportion aged 65 or over (23.4%).

In the seat of Lismore, which Thomas George, 61, holds for the National Party with a 10% margin, three other candidates are running.

The Labor candidate Andrew Moy works as a field officer with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Greens Party candidate Susan Stock lives close to World Heritage Mt Nardi near Nimbin. She was a councillor on Leichhardt Council from 1990 to 1999. She is the assistant editor of the Nimbin Good Times newspaper.

Also running is Christian Democrat Margaret Kay, a mother-of-five and grandmother of 12, who has been involved with charities.

Reader poll

Do you know who you will be voting for?

This poll ended on 11 March 2011.

Current Results

Yes, easy choice

90%

No, I'm undecided

9%

This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.